Smoke Nuisance Research Articles

The Smoke Nuisance and Sound Waves

The Smoke Nuisance and Sound Waves

The Smoke Nuisance and Sound Waves

The Smoke Nuisance and Sound Waves

Identification of the Source of Deposited Matter

When complaints of a smoke nuisance arise it is very important to be able to identify the source. The aim of the paper is to indicate possible methods of overcoming the difficulties of correct identification. Consideration is given to the rate of settlement and the terminal velocity of dust particles, and the application of the physical laws governing deposition. The author has used successfully a method of measurement involving the arrangement of series of gauges in rows extending radially from the suspected source, observations being made with due regard to the prevailing winds. Another method is particularly applicable to the measurement of dust emitted from pulverized coal furnaces, and is based on the tendency of the particles emitted from such furnaces to fuse whilst suspended in the furnace during combustion. Directional deposit gauges have been tried, but so far have not been very successful. The basic idea is to provide a gauge which will separate the deposits from different directions, and various forms have been experimented with.

Practical Solution to Salt Lake Valley Smoke Nuisance

Practical Solution to Salt Lake Valley Smoke Nuisance

Measurement of Chimney Smoke

MAJOR C. E. PRINCE gave an interesting lecture to the Junior Institution of Engineers on February 24 on the practical applications of light-sensitive ap paratus. The effects produced by a beam of light when projected on vapours, the particles of which, like drops of water, are possessed of reflective and refractive powers, have to be studied. The most useful effect for observation is the deflection or scattering of the beam. In the case of smoke, the interruption of the light by the particles of carbon gives the easiest and best method of measurement. Major Prince showed apparatus in which a beam projected through smoke and then on to a light-sensitive element gave a continuous quantitative record on a moving chart of the diminution of light due to the smoke. One difficulty was to interpret the readings in terms of a definite unit as the cut-off varies with the depth of the column penetrated by the light. The problem is of importance as it gives a method by using indicating or recording instruments for proving or refuting a contention that excessive smoke was being or had been allowed to issue from industrial chimneys. The present method of visual observation and comparison with a Ringelmann screen at the chimney top takes little or no account of the size of the chimney and consequently of the volume apart from the density of the issuing smoke. It neglects also the direction of the wind and its effect upon the apparent density of the smoke. It is necessary to define more accurately the density of smoke at a given distance. By using a selenium or a photoelectric cell, this is possible. It remains for those who have the managing of smoke-producing units and those who apply the regulations governing smoke nuisance to agree on a standard method.

A WASTE HEAT DRYING SYSTEM INVOLVING RECUPERATION1

In an attempt to eliminate the smoke nuisance created by operating a brick plant within the limits of a city, a successful smoke eliminator and a waste-heat drying system involving recuperation were developed after some experimenting on old and new methods. The construction and arrangement of the recuperator is described as follows: A complete double-deck duct system was built carrying the combustion gases in the lower half and the waste heat in the upper half. In this system a damper chamber is constructed a t each kiln where the outlet flue leaves the kiln. The kiln outlet flue enters this chamber on the one side and the gas and waste-heat ducts one above the other leave on the other side. Both of these ducts are fitted with dampers. The construction of these chambers and the main duct is described. The advantages, limitations, and cost of this system are discussed.

Railway Smoke Abatement

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to acquaint engineers in general with the efforts of the railroads to abate the smoke nuisance, and to offset the impression often gained that locomotives in municipal areas are the chief offenders as spreaders of smoke and grime. It is shown that railways in general are ever watchful that they may not become unduly offensive, and some of the plans adopted to check smoking are enumerated. It is shown that the engine crews can do much to remedy conditions, and officials are warned as to their manner of approaching the possible offenders. The pride of the crew must be appealed to rather than to set rules to be obeyed under threat of punishment. Direct steaming of locomotives from a central boiler seems to be working out satisfactorily in several instances, and an estimate of results to be expected from a plant under process of construction at the Chicago Avenue and Halsted Street Terminal of the Chicago and Northwestern Railway in Chicago, Ill., is appended.

The Making of the Future The Coal Crisis and the Future: a Study of Social Disorders and their Treatment

In this volume the coal problem is attacked from various angles by the several contributors, though a certain coherency is obtained, since most of the writers would appear to subscribe to the viewpoint of the “sociologist.” The quality is, however, somewhat, uneven, and it is to be feared that many readers will become impatient of the terminology and verboseness of certain of the writers. About one-half of the volume is devoted to an account of the “Conditions of Eutopian Repair and Reconstruction.” This, though it may interest some readers, would have been improved by compression, as it is somewhat vague and at times irrelevant. The appendices do not appear to bear very directly on the problems of the coal industry. Several of the papers, however, are more concise and contain some interesting matter. Prof. Desch and Mr. Kilburn Scott contribute readable articles on the technical aspects of coal utilisation; Dr. Saleeby pleads on hygienic grounds for the elimination of the smoke nuisance, while Prof. Abercrombie describes the planning of the Kent coal-field on the basis of regional surveys.

How cities can control the smoke nuisance

AbstractIf you knew Pittsburgh fifteen years ago and have visited it lately you have discovered that they are solving the smoke problem. Mr. Meller says that smoke emission, regulated by law, has decreased 80 percent in this period. Now is the time for citks to get busy on smoke prevention for next winter.

The Smoke Problem of Great Cities

IT is a significant fact that the thing which first strikes the foreigner on visiting large cities in Great Britain is the smoky atmosphere and the grimy appearance of the buildings. He wonders how we can tolerate such an environment. It is true enough that most of us do so, and it may be, as one writer has said, “that thousands of people live their lives from start to finish in the midst of black smoke and have come to regard it as a normal condition of life.” Nevertheless, there is a small section of the community who feel very differently on the subject, as the growing mass of literature on the smoke nuisance testifies. The latest contribution is a treatise on the smoke problem of cities by Sir Napier Shaw and Dr. Owens, who for many years have devoted their attention to the estimation of atmospheric impurities in London and other large towns. The most interesting section of the volume is the record of these experiments, namely,. the measurements by the standard gauges, which have been set up in various towns, and the results obtained with the dust filter and the jet dust counter, all of which have already appeared in extenso in the reports of the Committee on Atmospheric Pollution of the Meteorological Office. The volume includes also a good deal of information borrowed from other sources. The Smoke Problem of Great Cities. By Sir Napier Shaw Dr. John Switzer Owens. Pp. xvi+301. (London: Constable and Co., Ltd., 1925.) 22s. 6d. net.

SAVING FUEL IN FIRING COMMON BRICK1

Requirements of economy and fuel conservation, and incidentally the elimination of the smoke nuisance, make it necessary for America to follow the lead of Europe in adopting the regenerative continuous kiln of some kind for the burning of all clay products. For common brick the most practical and economical kiln is the annular kiln, a modification of the original Hoffman “Ringofen.” With simple automatic stokers and induced draft there is more rapid advance of the burning of the annular kiln and a greater saving of fuel. The compartment kiln and the tunnel kiln is unnecessarily expensive in installation and upkeep for low-priced product. Basis of different forms of the annular kiln is given.

The Smoke Nuisance

The Smoke Nuisance

Chicago's Smoke Nuisance

Chicago's Smoke Nuisance

Discussion at Pacific Coast convention

C. E. Skinner: It is rather curious that this process, developed primarily to abate a nuisance should become so valuable economically. I have been familiar with some attempts in the Pittsburgh district to abate the smoke nuisance by the Mellen Institute of Industrial Research. They made a smoke survey of Pittsburgh, and a study of this survey shows how desirable it is to abate this nuisance in the Pittsburgh district. However, the values recovered are not such as to justify the cost from the commercial standpoint, and consequently very little has been done.

THE APPLICATION OF PRODUCER GAS TO PERIODIC MUFFLE KILNS1

Specific Installation.—Describes installation of Underwood System to six terra cotta kilns at plant Northwestern Terra Cotta Company. Conclusions from operating data.—(1) Raw producer gas can be successfully applied to periodic muffle kilns. (2) There is little or no direct fuel economy over direct firing. (3) There is no labor economy unless the installation be large enough to justify mechanical coal and ash handling devices. (4) When interest on investment, depreciation and all other pertinent factors are taken into account, it is not likely that any great economy would be affected on periodic kilns over direct fire methods. Advantages.—They are: (a) Somewhat better control of combustion gases and kiln temperatures. (c) Cleaner and more orderly kiln yard. (d) Abatement of smoke nuisance, particularly important in large cities.

The Smoke Nuisance

THE Manchester City Council is one of the few local authorities which have gone out of their way not only to put the smoke clauses of the old Public Health Act into force, but also to investigate the cost to the community of the smoke nuisance. With true wisdom it has realised that the aesthetic sense of the average man is controlled by his pocket, and that the direct road to reform is to make him understand how much he might save by a clean atmosphere.

The Smoke Nuisance in The United States

LIKE ourselves, the industrial centres of the United States are beginning to realise the serious economic and hygienic effects caused by the unscientific combustion of coal. In the Journal of the Franklin Institute for March, Dr. W. F. M. Goss has contributed a paper on “Smoke as a Source of Atmospheric Pollution,” in which he discusses the results of a very elaborate investigation, extending over six years, into the consumption of coal and loss in the form of smoke in the city of Chicago, an inquiry undertaken under the auspices of the Chicago Association of Commerce.

Smoke and Smoke Prevention

“A BIBILIOGRAPHY of Smoke and Smoke Prevention,” prepared by Mr. E. H. McClelland, has been published by the University of Pittsburg, Pa. (Bulletin 2, 1913, pp. 164; price 50 cents). The bibliography has been compiled for the of use of the Melton Institute of Industrial Research, consisting of a body of scientific experts, who are about to embark on an inquiry, the nature! anxl extent of which is set forth in the first bulletin issued by the institute (“Outline of the Smoke Investigation”). It contains an apparently complete list of publications dealing with smoke, its cause, effects, aod prevention. In looking through the bibliography, we are struck by the extent and varied sources of the literature, a fact which clearly indicates that the smoke nuisance has no mere “local habitation,” but possesses a widespread interest. English, American, German, and French volumes predominate, and if we were to estimate the extent of the nuisance in these countries by the number of publications England would stand easily first. Still, it is some consolation to think that we do not suffer alone. The question then arises, how long will the present state of apathy on the part of the public authority continue, and when will the limit to public endurance be reached? It is true that we have the smoke clauses of the Factory Acts; but a perusal of these will immediately dispel any faith in their efficacy. We have also local bylaws; but experience will teach the most casual observer that in most industrial centres atmospheric purification has undergone little change. Indeed, in some of the most notoriously bad localities average convictions do not exceed one a year. There is, we believe, a Bill to be introduced into the House of Commons, and promoted by a large and influential body of citizens connected with various industrial centres, which, it is hoped, will find its way to the statute-book. In the meantime, there is no question that demands more immediate and drastic treatment than the smoke problem owing to its effects on the health, cleanliness, and general comfort of the community.

The Smoke Nuisance; a Question of Conservation.

The Smoke Nuisance; a Question of Conservation.

The Smoke Nuisance and its Abatement, by JOHN MACAULAY, A.M.I.Mech.E., Chief Smoke Abatement Inspector, Liverpool

The Smoke Nuisance and its Abatement, by JOHN MACAULAY, A.M.I.Mech.E., Chief Smoke Abatement Inspector, Liverpool